The NCAA is set to announce the host cities for the 2012 through 2016 Final Fours. Ten cities have put in bids for the event ... meaning half will go home disappointed.
Ranking the field:
1-Indianapolis: This is NCAA headquarters and they love having the Final Four here. Since the 2010 Final Four will be held in Indy, expect the new Lucas Oil Field to get the 2015 or 2016 event.
2-New Orleans: The NCAA loves N'Awlins (four previous trips) and it will have been at least a decade since the last one at the Superdome (2003). The dome seems to be in fine shape and they are also trying to land a Super Bowl in the (somewhat) near future. I think the NCAA gets this done in 2013 or 2014.
3-Phoenix: I think that Phoenix/Glendale is the next great stop for sporting events. The Super Bowl was a huge success a the new stadium and I think the Final Four would love to grab some of that. I see the 2012 or 2013 Final Four getting awarded here.
4-San Antonio: San Antonio has become a bit of a great place to have a Final Four. They have had three of them from 1998 to 2008. I think the love affair could continue with the 2016 event. However, one strike against the Alamodome could be that they have been there quite a bit of late.
5-North Texas: The new digs and the potentially amazing capacity makes this very, very attractive. Imagine over 100,000 watching the NCAA Championship game! It could happen. The strike against it could be the fact that this means over-Texas-ing this event (San Antonio in '08, Houston in '11 and now Dallas?). If Dallas pulls this off, it could steal San Antonio's bid down the road.
"It just wasn't a good fit for me at Georgetown and I didn't feel like the offense was really showcasing my talents,'' Rivers told the Star. "I had worked hard at becoming a defensive specialist and that's fine, but I feel like I'm capable of a lot more. I just needed to make a change.''
In a statement released by Georgetown University, Hoyas coach John Thompson III said, "Jeremiah and his family made a decision and determined this was best for him. We appreciate his hard work and wish him best in his future endeavors.''
Rivers averaged just 2.5 ppg, but was an outstanding defensive players ... often checking some of the nation's top scorers. He'll be heading to a defensive minded league and to a program that needs bodies. Of course, that won't help them this year (Indiana has only three returning players) as Rivers must sit out one season per NCAA rules.
Interesting that Rivers chose Indiana. Indiana's new coach is Tom Crean, who used to be the coach at Marquette. Rivers' dad played at Marquette (a long, long, long time before Crean was there) in college.
Rivers also considered Georgia Tech (his dad played seven seasons in Atlanta) and Central Florida (his dad coached the Orlando Magic for five seasons).
McGee was kicked off the team because of academic and team guideline violations.
"Our coaching and support staff tried to make this work out, but we felt that there were some basic standard operating procedures that were not being met," Crean said in a statement.
Due to graduation, early entry into the NBA draft, transfers and straight dismissals the Hoosiers are down to just three players from last year's team: Jordan Crawford, Kyle Taber and Brett Finkelmeier. Of that group, only Crawford was a key player -- averaging 9.7 pts, 3.4 rbs and 2.3 ast. Taber did play quite a bit (around 11.2 minutes per game) but aveaged just 1.3 ppg. Finkelmeier was a walk-on who played all of 11 minutes last season.
McGee wasn't a star either, playing in just 17 games and averaging just 1.5 points.
Dan Dakich led the Indiana Hoosiers to a 3-4 record after taking over for Kelvin Sampson late last season. He was promptly replaced by Tom Crean ... and shown the door.
Indiana University has reached a settlement with former interim coach Dan Dakich, paying him the $185,000 he was scheduled to earn next school year.
IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre confirmed the deal, saying Dakich was owed a base salary of $110,000 with a supplemental bonus of $75,000.
This is a nice slap-on-the-rear for Dakich for taking one for the team. It started with his players skipping out on practice and ended with him dismissing two players. While the season ended horribly for the Hoosiers faithful, you can't pin any of it on Dakich. He was thrown into a tough situation and tried to do his best in a lame duck role.
Indiana freshman center Eli Holman went into new coach Tom Crean's office to inform the coach he wanted to transfer. He left after police were called as he apparantly threw a tantrum.
"His behavior took me, along with the other people in the office, by surprise," Crean said in a statement released by the university. "We saw him as a danger to himself and wanted to take precautionary measures to help him. We felt bad for Eli and, hopefully, were able to help him."
University police were called to help him from doing something really stupid. They took eyewitness accounts of what happened ... which included Holman knocking over a potted plant (the first report said he threw it, but the story changed to he just knocked it over). No one said they felt threatened and, after an hour with AD Rick Greenspan, he left calmly.
Indiana University freshman Eric Gordon plans to enter the NBA draft, a person close to the situation told The Star on Thursday night.
IU is scheduled to issue a release this afternoon detailing when and where Gordon will make his formal announcement.
He had the look of a one-and-done guy all season long ... and it was pretty much mailed in after Kelvin Sampson left Indiana. He really didn't look too enthused at the end of the season, the program is a mess and may have sanctions brought against them next season.
According to NBA Draft.net, he's projected as the #6 pick in the draft. If he does go in the lottery, he will be the third Indianapolis high school stud in the last two years to be selected in the lottery after playing just one year in college. Greg Oden and Mike Conley went #1 and #4 in the 2007 draft.
With Gordon gone, new head coach Tom Crean is down to just five scholarship players.
A source close to the situation tells Eyewitness Sports that officials from the IU administration have met with assistant basketball coach Dan Dakich about taking over the basketball team as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Dakich began this season in an administrative position with the team. He became an assistant coach when assistant coach Rob Senderoff resigned in October for his involvement in improper phone calls to recruits. Dakich is a former IU player and assistant coach under Bob Knight.
The station also reports that the source is saying that the school is looking at a financial settlement with Sampson (basically buying him out so this doesn't drag on). If that doesn't get done in the next day or two, the school will suspend him with termination pending.
Either way, it seems as if Sampson has coached his final game at Indiana.
This is based on nothing more than watercooler chit-chat ... but with Kelvin Sampson's current problems at Indiana there may be an opening soon. A program like Indiana will want to regain their image and will need a strong, honest leader to guide them in past this. Someone who will excite the fanbase and alumni.
Yes, it is loopy. Insane. Madness. Or things breaking in the right direction. After all: Knight unexpectedly quits job at Texas Tech so his son can take over; Knight says he wants to coach again; Allegations of wrongdoing come up for Indiana's coach Kelvin Sampson that could lead to his dismissal.
You would think that if Knight was going to coach again, it would have to be just the right fit for him. While Texas Tech seemed right, basketball really wasn't the main focus for the school. It is at Indiana where Knight could resurrect a program that has seen nothing but drama since his firing.
If you're in Indianapolis this evening and you know a good Italian restaurant, stop by. If you hear 10 people talking basketball, do your best to eavesdrop on their conversation. Why? Because those 10 people are the members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Indianapolis Star reports:
Dinner tonight at an Italian restaurant, a place that's become a selection committee tradition (but one it would rather not divulge), will be the only off-site meal for the people who pick the men's basketball field.
Yes, the selection committee begins its work today. As we've written before, it's not an easy job. By the end of the night tonight, some teams will already have earned their at-large berths -- every member of the committee will turn in the first ballot before going to bed, and any team that's on every ballot gets in. Usually, that's about 20 teams. After the jump, I list my best guess of the teams that will already have their spots wrapped up by the end of the committee's first day, no matter how many upsets happen in the conference tournaments.
The NCAA is set to announce the host cities for the 2012 through 2016 Final Fours. Ten cities have put in bids for the event ... meaning half will go home disappointed.
Hey! Guess what! Some positive news coming out of Bloomington, Indiana. It seems that .jpg)
Indiana freshman center Eli Holman went into new coach 
In a move that should be shocking to absolutely no one, Indiana star guard 
Speculation is rampant, but we now may have some concrete evidence on Indiana's next move on 
This is based on nothing more than watercooler chit-chat ... but with 
If you're in Indianapolis this evening and you know a good Italian restaurant, stop by. If you hear 10 people talking basketball, do your best to eavesdrop on their conversation. Why? Because those 10 people are the members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. 
